Banks and other institutions accept a power of attorney because of its execution formalities. Here is what each state we serve requires, from each state's own statute.
Based on your state, here's the applicable general rule and source.
These documents cannot be click-signed either: banks and other third parties rely on the witnessing and notarization formalities when deciding whether to accept a power of attorney. Print it and sign it properly.
notarization
A Texas statutory durable power of attorney must be signed by the principal and acknowledged before a notary or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments (Estates Code §§ 751.0021 and 752.051).
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A Nevada power of attorney must be signed by the principal or, in the principal's conscious presence, by another individual the principal directs to sign the principal's name (NRS 162A.220(1)). The signature is presumed genuine when acknowledged before a notary public. If the principal resides in a hospital, residential facility for groups, facility for skilled nursing, or home for individual residential care at the time of execution, NRS 162A.220(2) requires a certification of competency from an advanced practice registered nurse, physician, psychologist, or psychiatrist to be ATTACHED. NRS 162A.220(3) separately bars a principal who resides or is about to reside in a hospital, assisted living facility, or facility for skilled nursing from naming that facility, its owner or operator, or an employee as agent, except under (4) for a spouse, legal guardian, or next of kin, or under (4)(b) and (5) for a narrow Medicaid-eligibility appointment. The statutory form at NRS 162A.620 grants authority by hand-initialing each subject line; a line left blank is not granted.
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The Wisconsin statutory power of attorney form is at Wis. Stat. 244.61 and grants authority by hand-initialing each subject line; a line left blank is not granted. The principal's signature is acknowledged before a notary public.
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The Nebraska statutory power of attorney form is at Neb. Rev. Stat. 30-4041 and grants authority by hand-initialing each subject line; a line left blank is not granted. The principal's signature is acknowledged before a notary public.
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Michigan's Uniform Power of Attorney Act (2023 PA 187, MCL 556.201 to 556.505) took effect July 1, 2024 and repealed MCL 700.5501 to 700.5505. MCL 556.205 (pinned in docs/legal/sources/mi/) governs execution and draws a distinction the pack missed until the section text landed. To be EFFECTIVE the power must be signed by the principal, OR — if signed in the principal's conscious presence — by another individual the principal directed to sign the principal's name. To be DURABLE the two cases part company: a power the PRINCIPAL signed may be either acknowledged before a notary public or other individual authorized to take acknowledgments, OR signed in the presence of two witnesses who also sign; but a power signed by ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL for the principal must be witnessed by two witnesses under MCL 556.205(3), 'regardless of whether the power is acknowledged' — notarization alone will not make it durable. A witness may not be an agent nominated in the power (556.401's CAUTION spells out that this reaches the successor agent too, and it is a WITNESS-eligibility rule, not a limit on who may serve as agent), and one witness may also act as the notary. Separately, MCL 556.205(4) presumes a signature genuine when acknowledged before a notary, and MCL 556.205(5) denies that presumption to a power that is witnessed but NOT acknowledged — such a power is 'not acknowledged within the meaning of sections 119 and 120', so it also loses the MCL 556.220 protection against a third party declining to accept it. The practical advice the instructions give is therefore to do both where possible. The statutory form is at MCL 556.401 and grants authority by hand-initialing; a line left blank is not granted, and the 'All Preceding Subjects' line works regardless of whether any preceding subject was initialed. If the power is durable, MCL 556.213(2) requires the AGENT, before acting, to sign an acknowledgment of the agent's duties; MCL 556.402 supplies the template, which this document reproduces verbatim. It is the financial-POA analogue of the patient advocate acceptance at MCL 700.5507. Unless the Special Instructions say otherwise, executing this power of attorney does NOT revoke a prior one.
Prepare in MichiganEach state's requirement above is maintained against the state's own statute (the citations appear in the notes) and reviewed when the underlying law changes. States we don't prepare documents for aren't listed — we don't summarize law we haven't verified.
This tool provides general information, not legal advice, and is not a substitute for the advice or services of an attorney. Deadlines can be affected by facts this tool does not ask about.